food

[magooq]

Have just read reviews in Travelers mag that rated best cruise ships. Royal carribean did not score very high for food at all. Celebrity seems to have overshadowed every cruise line, especially in top 10. Is it just the larger (voyager)style that the food suffers due to pass. #'s?

 

[chuckg0413]

I have been on 4 RCCL cruises, the min number in our group has been 9, the most was 16. The ages ranged from 18 to 60+. No one I have been with have ever complained about the food on the ship. We have always found it hot, tasty, attractively presented, with a good selection of choices and plenty of it.

I too have read many posts about the quality, selection etc. of the food onboard. I would love to know where these people eat when at home.

Since I don't have a personal chef, or eat every meal in a 5 star restaurant, I am probably not qualified to comment, but like I said, we have always been pleased with the food on RCCL.

Chuck

 

[Rubysky]

In the reviews, disregard any that start out saying that they are a gourmet cook or give a laundry list of chain restarunts that they frequent. That seems to make their tastebuds superior to the others all around them that love the same dish that they thought was soo poor. :grin
Food is subjective. There are different tastes in food across the country, even some soda & beer companies tweek their product regionally.
The cruise lines have to tone the food for the mass market even if that means toning down Mexican food selections, etc.
Some people get their jollies by finding to complain about, food is the easiest to criticise.

 

[cfurry]

My girls and I are sailing away on Mariner (a Voyager class ship) this Sunday, and today I asked my wife what she envisions doing on the cruise. Besides eating.

We are so looking forward to this cruise, and the quality of food served onboard is a big part of it. We were very surprised at the food quality on Rhapsody last year, and we've heard great things about Mariner.

Celebrity is certainly a foodie cruise line. They're known for it and by all accounts they work hard at maintaining that reputation. They're also owned by RCI, so clearly the organization knows a thing or two about how to put a meal together.

Rubysky is so right...food is subjective. We found that the food quality was impressive in its consistency, from the dining room to the buffet. Especially good were the rolls, soups and desserts. In fact, one night in the dining room, they served one of the best desserts I've ever eaten -- a warm chocolate cake. It was simply terrific. And yes, I've eaten at quite a few of those overpriced five-star restaurants, and have ordered dessert at all of them.

Supremely finicky eaters and armchair food critics probably wouldn't be happy except on the priciest of cruise lines, such as Silversa or Seabourne. Of course, they'll end up paying $8,000-$12,000 (or more) for their cruise. For that kind of money, they could charter a yacht, complete with their own chef.

As for us, we've already decided what we'll do first immediately after boarding Mariner: lunch. We can't wait!

 

[Godawg]

I have to agree with the statements above. Our family was on the Rahpsody in April and the food was outstanding. There was only one dish that seemed a little bland to me. It was a chicken or Turkey primavera that could have had a little more flavor, but overall the food was outstanding. The deserts were to die for.
Have a great time on your cruise.

 

[usher]

Just got off a 10-day cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas yesterday (May 31st) Here's my food review:

The Windjammer caferteria was somewhat dissapointing. Towards the end of the cruise we were told that they ran out of some items - one day there wasn't any Sweet & Low, another day they ran out of low-fat milk, another they were out of Green Tea. One time I had to tell the people working there that some of their buffet containers were empty.

There wasn't any daily variety in the Windjammer - same stuff every day. On the other two cruise lines I was on there was something new each day. Somewhat dissapointing.

The main restaurant had a better variety and the food was average, however we received the same menu everyday for lunch. I didn't think it was great but it was OK. You did get as much as you wanted.

Personally I would rate the food last on my list compared to Holland America and Norwiegian. Maybe it's the sign of the times as companies try to cut costs.

 

[njcruiser]

We have been on a number of cruise lines, RCL is making smaller portion sizes and the food ,which makes no difference BUT the food taste seems to be suffering somehow. Perhaps they should add on a little charge for having it taste fantastic like it used to.

 

[GloBug]

Can't please everybody all of the time. My hubby loves massive quantities of ok food, whereas I prefer small quantities of very good food. I'm not going on my first cruise for the food, but for the whole experience. My expectations on the food is that some of it will be ok, some will be very good, a little of it will be worth talking about, and that if I take the wrong attitude, it will ALL be bad!

 

[baseballmom]

Glo, my sentiments exactly. I have high expectations for the service, but just so-so expectations for the food (so perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised?). We're not terribly picky eaters, but we do like food that's well prepared and served. If that happens, I'll be satisfied.

Laurie
Counting down to first cruise: Monarch of the Seas, June 7, 2004

 

[iluvcruzin]

It does not suprise me that the food ratings on RCCL are not high. As someone who's sailed with them for 15 years I can say that I've seen a big change in the quality of the food. I too was on the Granduer recently and our group was somewhat disapointed in the food. It's not so much the amount of variety as that the flavors are very bland. I miss the experience of gourmet style food in the dining room. The desserts were basically tasteless so we just ordered ice cream the 2nd half of the cruise. But... since the cruiseline is now a "family geared" line, my guess is they food style has turned "family oriented " which is quick to prepare and deliver.

If I was a relatively new RCCL cruiser, I don't think the food would bother me. There's still plenty of choices and variety with something for everyone. But considering I'm a veteran, my experience is it's not like it used to be.

 

[usher]

Correct - Just returned from a 10-day cruise on the Grandeur. The food didn't impress me. Every morning the breakfast buffet was the same. if you wanted something special made (omlettes, fried eggs, etc.) the wait was 5-10-15 minutes depending on the length of the line. I made the mistake of getting everything first except the omlette one morning and by the time my omlette was cooked the plate & food were cold. Many mornings the food was warm, not hot and they started running out of simple items 2/3 into the cruise - sweet & low one day, fat free milk another, green tea another.

One morning I had to flag down one of the crew to tell him the sausage container was empty.

We started going to the dinning room for breakfast & lunch a few days into the cruise to get a better meal. The food was quite better there but the only problem with breakfast & lunch in the dinning room is that the same menu was used every day. So by the 5th day one starts eating the same meals over & over.

This was our first cruise in about 2-1/2 years so maybe the whole food thing has changed but on our last two cruises there semed to be a better food selection and the food was kept hot and well stocked.

BUT this didn't keep me from stuffing myself every day.